TAG Heuer: the first 8 months
“TAG Heuer intends to capture a 10% market share in the Indian Swiss watch segment” claims the Swiss brand. A market segment which, according to the brand, accounts approximatively for Rs. 200 crores (¤38 million).
Targeted at the age group of 16 to 50 years, TAG Heuer India intends to hit this target with a marketing budget of approximately Rs.10 crores (¤1,885,000). The Media agency for TAG Heuer is Starcom but the creative work is done in Europe by TBWA.
As brand ambassador, TAG Heuer has choosen Bollywood's star Shah Rukh Khan, focusing on the tag line ‘What are you made ofı’
Print ads were launched on September 10, 2003, but restricted to newspapers and magazines in A & B cities – metros and mini-metros. Released on October 17, 2003, the cinema commercial was launched through a nationwide theatre release. Trying to capture a niche, the cinema-going segment, “we have tied up with leading upmarket multiplexes; the objective is to target the upwardly mobile strata of young, enthusiastic people who like to take challenges” comments one of the brand's authorities, adding, “We see Shah Rukh Khan in the same spirit, a man who aims at perfection. We announced Shah Rukh Khan as the brand's Ambassador in India, brought an original TAG Heuer Formula 1 car to India and now we are launching the Tiger Woods film commercial ‘Who can beat Tiger Woodsı' in the country, first in cinemas and later in other electronic mediums.”
Today, TAG Heuer is present in 14 cities and 34 points of sale throughout India and has six exclusive outlets, soon to be increased to 10.
According to Philippe Pascal, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, LVMH Watches and Jewellery, “Our price monitoring and service strategy will dry out temptations for the grey market and will enable us to offer good value. All our watches will be legally imported into the Indian market, and as promised to the consumer during our launch, we will make sure that the range of watches will be similar to our range available in the international market.”
“We launched the brand around nine months ago, which is a short time to get a complete feel for the market, but we have succeeded in achieving our target. The luxury segment of the market is growing. According to a report in ‘The Economist,’ 1.5 billion Asians will be earning approximately two lakh (¤3,800) in 2004; so the market for luxury brands will also grow,” explains Manishi Sanwal, Brand Manager, LVMH Watches & Jewellery, India.

TAG Heuer to offer luxury watches in India at 0% financing
According to the October 17, 2003 newsletter from “exchange4media.com”, TAG Heuer is in negotiations with several banks to offer its Indian customers a zero per cent finance scheme for its watches. “We expect to launch this initiative in November this year. It is targeted at young professionals, to enable them to buy a luxury watch now, rather than later,” says Mr Manishi Sanwal, Brand Manager, LVMH Watches & Jewellery India, owners of the TAG Heuer and Dior brands.
“Initially, the finance scheme will be available for a limited period of time, during which the company would assess the response to the initiative.
The scheme is expected to help the company's sales during the festive season. About 60 per cent of watch sales occur during the October to January period."

Lvmh is in India to stay
According to Ravi Thakran, Managing Director, Asia-Pacific, LVMH Watch & Jewellery, “With Indian fashion arriving on the international scene and with the Indians arriving at an early age on the economic front, the market for luxury watches in India is buoyant. However, the major impediment that the international watch companies are facing in India is the high duty imposed on the sector, one of the highest in the world.”
But LVMH ensures that its pricing in India is on a par with the international market. “A TAG Heuer or a Dior watch is available at the same price as in Dubai,” says Thakran. While the TAG Heuer brand is priced between Rs 29,000 (¤550) and Rs 1 lakh (1 lakh is Rs 100'000 or ¤1,900), the Dior range will retail between Rs 20,000 (¤380) and Rs 50,000 (¤800).
“This decision of not having any discrepancy in pricing will no doubt lead to losses in the first few years considering the heavy duties we have to pay. But we decided to take the plunge in order to ensure that none of our products come through other channels,” remarks Thakran.
The company plans to set up 10 exclusive TAG Heuer boutiques and 12 Dior boutiques by mid-2004, as well as having shop-in-shops in all the major lifestyle retail stores across the country. “Apart from offering an international shopping experience to our customers, we will ensure that all our stores and shop-in-shops have a well equipped after-sales team,” says Thakran, adding that “proper training of the staff at the points of sale is a major grey area in the Indian retail industry.”
“We are, on average, selling at least one TAG Heuer watch a day at Crossroads in Mumbai, and if our sales continues at this pace, we will definitely break even in the next three years,” Thakran says.

Omega: to stay number one
Omega has been represented in all the main cities of India including Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and Calcutta since 1998 and can be found in the best high-end watch retail shops in these cities.
Since 2002, Swatch Group India, the affiliate based in Delhi, distribute the Omega brand to around 30 official retailers throughout the country and is expecting (willing) to establish a good network of around 40 retailers by the end of 2004.
In all retail shops where Omega is represented, there is a special corner with original corporate furniture. Omega is therefore displayed with the same ambience as Omega retail outlets over the world. The opening of exclusive Omega Boutiques is an ongoing project and the first boutique should be opened during the first half of 2004.
Omega's main marketing investments are through classic advertising, mainly in magazines like Cosmo, Femina or Times of India.
Because India is not an easy market to access, particularly because of the high duties, Omega decided to set up its own affiliate in order to manage all the import and distribution procedures and make it as cost controlled as possible in order to offer the Indian market Omega watches at a similar price to those in the other countries.
There is a very positive growth trend in the Indian market and Omega is now working on establishing some exclusive Omega boutiques in the country's main cities. According to Omega, this emerging market can become one of the 10 main watch markets in the next five years and the brand hopes to keep its watches as the number one seller in its market segment. The competition recently moved into India, but, as a multi-facetted brand, Omega has all the wherewithal to attract a large group of Indian consumers and “therefore stay Brand number 1 for watches in this country.”

Piaget: 13 points of sale
“Piaget has been present in India since 1996. The brand has an agent there, a boutique at the Oberoi Hotel in Mumbai and 13 points of sale (POS) in the following cities: Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkatta, Chennai. The POS are owned by independent entrepreneurs. [There are no chain stores in India.] Our displays and corners are integrated into the POS that propose Piaget creations. As for advertising, our institutional theme of ‘Secret Gardens’ is used India, but there is no specific campaign for the country. For Piaget, the Indian market offers a high potential of evolution. However, this potential would be even greater if the import duties were lowered, today accounting for 70% of the value of the product, and if Indian law did not prohibit the importation of gem-set jewellery. Just for your information, many well-to-do Indians travel and purchase articles abroad.” (In response to questions asked by Europa Star.)

Edox to follow Swatch by skin
Edox, a mid-segment Swiss brand, has recently launched its watches in India. According to the President of Edox, Mr Alexandre Strambini, the company aims to sell 5,000 pieces in the first year. The prices start from Rs 15,000 (¤280) with a two-year guarantee after sales and repair service, wherever the watches are sold. Whereı
Distributed by West End Watch Co. of Mumbai, the watches are marketed through A-grade retail outlets and jewellers, according to Mr Zahir Irani, in charge of Sales and Marketing at West End. As examples, he cites Helvetica, Spencer Plaza and Zimson in Chennai, and Watches of Switzerland, Swiss Gallery, Swiss Paradise and Pallazio at the Crossroads mall in Mumbai.
“Overall, they will be sold in 30 to 40 outlets in the country,” explains Mr Irani, who underlines that “Edox will be present wherever Swatch Group – namely Tissot and Swatch - offers a choice.”
The Mumbai-based advertising agency, Lighthouse, will handle the advertising campaign for Edox, now in the stage of “establishing the brand.” A special emphasis will be placed on the slimmest watches in the Edox range.

Girard-Perregaux & JeanRichard
unveils first exclusive boutique in India
Girard–Perregaux and JeanRichard opened in July 2003 their first exclusive boutique in the world at The Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai, India. This boutique showcases the entire range of Sowind Group production, brought together for the first time. The Girard-Perregaux and JeanRichard boutique was launched in India by the Entrack group of Companies.
Speaking on this occasion, Dilip R. Doshi, Chairman and MD, Entrack Group of Companies, declared: “It has been wonderful to work so closely with the Girard-Perregaux family. Visionary and bold, with a rich heritage, Girard-Perregaux adds new meaning to the word ‘Luxury’. We are proud to be associated with those great brands and look forward to initiating the Indian consumer to the brilliance of Girard-Perregaux. Next on the cards will be the opening of a boutique in New Delhi somewhere before the end of the year.”
Commenting on the grand opening, Stefano Macaluso, Girard-Perregaux, said, “This is a very special moment for us. On behalf of my father, the President of the company, I am very happy to announce the launch of our first ever boutique in the world. A land of great beauty, heritage and culture, India has many synergies with the tradition and heritage of Girard-Perregaux . We are looking to an enduring relationship with this beautiful country.”

Raymond Weil
Raymond Weil entered the Indian watch market in 1974 at a time when the country was nearly completely closed to outsiders. The Swiss brand was able to overcome the barriers to foreign firms because it decided to produce its watches in the country. This allowed Raymond Weil to not only build up a solid reputation, but also, and very importantly, to construct a reliable distribution network of retailers.
Today, the enterprise has 22 points of sale in India. “In the current context,” explains Ravi Venkatachalam, manager of distribution for Raymond Weil through his company International Timing, “it is good to have many sales points, but to have strategic placements is even more important. I am talking, for example, about the five boutiques we have in the city of Mumbai, without counting the one at the Taj Mahal Hotel. We also have looked into shopping malls, but they are still, for now anyway, too unstable. The mono-brand stores are also risky ventures. In fact, today’s Indian consumer prefers to have a choice. To compare prices and products is an integral and pleasurable part of the overall shopping experience. For these reasons, we prefer to place our watches with retailers that we have known for many years, and who have already become successful with our brand. The fact that Raymond Weil is an independent and family-run company is an added advantage in a country dominated by independent and family-run enterprises. We speak the same language. The importance of personal relationships and loyalty are still primordial.”
Ravi Venkatachalam admits that the large task of education remains a permanent one, not only for the consumer but also for the retailer. “In our case, the Indian retailer must be aware of the considerable evolution that Raymond Weil has experienced over the last few years. At the heart of the issue is the notion of a fully qualitative brand.”
“In my opinion,” he adds, “the rate of progression in the Indian market will remain stable. Increasing the number of points of sale will not automatically increase direct sales. In fact, we need to consolidate these positions with a strategic view over the next ten years to come. I might add in passing that the number of watches sold per point of sale in India is largely superior to the international average.”
Another particularity of the Indian market is the importance of purchases made abroad (and the absence of duty free). “The reputation that Raymond Weil has in India also travels abroad. Wherever there are major Indian communities, we are registering remarkable sales.” The ‘Indian market’ is obviously therefore not limited to only the nation’s geographical boundaries.

Chopard: Taxes should be lowered
“Since 1996, Chopard has a Boutique in Mumbai (Bombay). Recently we changed location and moved to the Oberoi Hotel. In addition to this franchised Chopard Boutique, our distributor, Select Swiss Watches, sells to three points of sale, which have wall units, in the following shops: Time Avenue in Mumbai, Dia in the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai and Johnson in New Delhi.
”We are also engaged in a publicity campaign in India. Chopard advertises especially in magazines, but we also have PR events like fashion shows with Naomi Campbell, etc.
“India has a high duty level, especially for jewellery items. This is the only major difficulty. We hope that the high import taxes will be lowered in the near future, otherwise the Indian market will not grow according to its huge potential.
”It is a fascinating country, with a captivating history, full of mystery and lots of culture. India has an old and close relation with gold. It is a very important gift for weddings in this country, and even men are wearing jewellery and gold items on 'the most important day' of their life."

India enters a new time zone
with Harry Winston watches
The brand Harry Winston Rare Timepieces was officially launched on 23 September 2003 during a press conference held at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai. The following evening the company held a gala reception at the JW Marriot Hotel in Mumbai for some 400 guests of the brand which included Indian film stars. The theme for the evening’s festivities was the emotional link that has existed for more than a half-century between the famous jeweller and Hollywood stars.
The establishment of Harry Winston Rare Time-pieces in India responds to a major demand by Indian customers for its jewellery watches and complications. It also reflects the determination of the brand to expand into the Asian marketplace. In the last two years, 24 points of sale have been opened on the continent.
Harry Winston watches are available at the Regent, a multi-brand boutique in the Heritage wing of the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai, and in the lobby of the Maurya Sheraton Hotel in New Delhi.



India, From a watch market to a brand market

 Indian conception of time

India, Analysis: Overall Indian Watch Market

 A 7% growth in 2003

 The Infrastructure challenge

India, Profile: Titan, the inevitable giant

 Interview: Bhaskar Bhat, Titan's CEO

India, Distribution: India's evolving work of distribution

India, Distribution:
-TAG Heuer offers luxury watches in India at 0% financing

 LVMH is in India to stay

 Omega: to stay number one

 Piaget: 13 points of sales

 Edox to follow Swatch by skin

 Girard-Perregaux & JeanRichard unveils first exclusive boutique

 Raymond Weil

 Chopard: taxes should be lowered -Harry Winston: India enters a new time zone


NEXT...
In the forthcoming weeks, there will be a new Special Market Focus on Russia serialized online.
To obtain a print copy subscribe Now to Europa Star.